Chapter 189 Cohen's Mishap

Mu Xin sat in the back seat of the cadillac escalade, closed the door, and immediately pulled out his phone.

"Mr. Cohen." The voice of Mu Xin was flat, "Your speed is slower than I expected, much slower."

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment, then the voice of Cohen came through, "Mr. Mu, have you finished talking with Patrick?"

"Yes, all the remaining structures of the Connolly Family in Ohio are handed over to you."

"Patrick himself and his core team have completely withdrawn from downtown Cincinnati, and the legal businesses will be gradually transferred over the next few months."

"You just need to ensure there are no contraband items in Oxford Town!"

"Oh, right, besides finishing up with Patrick, I have also finished talking with the federal people."

"We reached an agreement that this matter stops at the Connolly Family."

"So, Mr. Cohen, what the hell have you been doing in Washington?!"

"If you do not want this political achievement, then I will just find someone else to work with!"

The tone of the last few sentences of Mu Xin was full of sarcasm; the efficiency of Cohen was worlds apart from those people in the investigation team just now!

"Mr. Mu." The voice of Cohen did not change, but Mu Xin could tell he was adjusting his emotions.

"The federal people went to the office of Acton. How many people? Which department?"

"A senior resident agent from the FBI Cincinnati Field Office, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District, and another one wearing a dark coat. He did not introduce himself, but he had the highest rank in the entire office."

"We reached an agreement. The Connolly case in Ohio is limited to the state level, characterized as internal corruption within the local law enforcement system, and does not involve federal jurisdiction." Mu Xin briefly summarized what had just happened.

There was no sound from the end of Cohen.

"I do not know what his position is, but Acton was so scared her hands were shaking." Mu Xin added.

"All the materials on the Connolly Family in Ohio for the last thirty years—I am pushing these things into the official investigation procedure of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have already paved a good path in Washington."

"Now you tell me the case is being suppressed at the state level." Cohen was somewhat skeptical.

"It is not that I am telling you," Mu Xin said, "it is that they told me, and I had to agree."

"I was sitting in the office of Acton at the time. Among the people present, two were from the FBI and the Department of Justice, one did not speak the whole time but everyone was watching his reactions, and there was another one guarding the door."

"I had no choice; I had to go with the flow!"

"That person in the dark coat," Cohen paused, "about fifty years old? Graying hair?"

"Yes." Mu Xin answered crisply.

Cohen was silent for a moment and said, "Continue."

"Their reason was very direct: the Connolly Family has paid over 170 million US dollars to various levels of the federal government over the past thirty years, part of which directly supported the operating funds of two Federal Task Forces in Ohio."

"In other words, the Connolly Family is not a cancer on the federal law enforcement budget sheet, but a fixed source of income that has already been incorporated into the budget cycle."

"They said these things to my face, without any pretense. They were not negotiating with me; they were notifying me."

"If I did not agree, the next step would not be sitting in the office of Acton to talk."

"I only knew at the time that the people opposite me were federal, but the one in the coat on the scene was obviously the one who really called the shots."

"Morrison and Cross, those two from the FBI and the Department of Justice, were watching his reactions the whole time." Mu Xin became angrier as he spoke.

Cohen was silent for a few seconds, then slowly let out a breath.

"I understand." His voice had returned to normal, "You had no other choice."

"How are things prepared on your end?" Mu Xin asked.

"I have already submitted a preliminary assessment report to the Joint Counterintelligence Task Force at The Pentagon. If you can drag it out for another week on your end, my assessment will be converted into an official investigation authorization."

"But now the case is suppressed at the state level. After it is characterized as a local corruption case, the federal level will not initiate any cross-departmental investigations."

"That preliminary assessment report of mine will likely be as good as scrap paper." Cohen said.

"So now you know. If you had told me your progress earlier, I could have at least used a different approach in the office of Acton today."

"You swore you could handle it, and now you have made it so that both you and I are very passive!" Mu Xin laughed in anger.

He had always thought Cohen was a very capable official at The Pentagon; after all, his position spoke for itself.

And his performance before had indeed been very intimidating, at least it had intimidated Mu Xin at the time.

Now it seems that the assessment of Cohen can be re-evaluated...

Cohen did not refute; he knew Mu Xin was right. This time, he had dropped the ball.

"There is still a turning point in this matter," Cohen said, "The federal people being able to suppress the case at the state level means that the authority they hold is at least at the level of the Deputy Attorney General—"

"Let me interrupt you first. You must help me find out who that person in the dark coat is right now."

"This person's identity is very important. His role in this matter is likely even more significant than I imagined." Mu Xin said.

"I will immediately investigate the identities of those people who met with you today. In addition, I will have the Department of Defense intervene as soon as possible."

"The heat of this matter needs to be maintained. I can feel that someone is lowering the discussion heat of this matter."

"If no one is discussing it, then this matter will soon pass." Cohen said.

Mu Xin knew Cohen was right; he was hinting that he needed to continue investing in public opinion.

"I will arrange for people to handle the public opinion side of things; you must be as fast as possible on your end."

"I will say it again: you and I have different goals, but the desired result is the same!"

"If you cannot do it well, I will look for a new partner in Washington!"

Mu Xin hung up the phone directly after saying that. He was telling the truth; if it were him who had dropped the ball, Cohen would do the same.

"Should we contact Jack now? Cohen cannot be our only option." Victoria asked from the side.

Mu Xin did not speak. He was also thinking about this problem, but he could not find a more suitable person in the short term.

"I think we should put all our energy into the cooperation with Cohen. We do not have time. New partners need time to cultivate."

"Even Jack cannot guarantee that he can immediately find a suitable candidate. Ordinary people cannot handle this kind of thing." Jessica said after carefully considering her wording.

"Exhale—!"

Mu Xin let out a long sigh, then spoke: "All-in on Cohen!"